Posted in Columns, Cricket by The Sports Mirror on September 20th, 2010

Andrew Flintoff

Cricket’s mercurial players are diminishing in numbers what with Andrew Flintoff also deciding to hang his boots from all forms of game. Andrew Flintoff announced this decision to the world yesterday. There is no such replacement for him in the English squad who may have the streak of maverick to excite the crowd.

Any sports activity is considered to be a hit if the players by his or he presence in the ground raises the adrenalin of the crowd which anticipates that an action is just round the corner, though it may not happen eventually. But such is the aura of the persona that expectations abound. Flintoff was one such player, and being an all-rounder, he was considered a worthy replacement for Ian Botham, who incidentally was the player for England who was adulated.

When he made his debut in the English time, at that time England was struggling against the Aussies in the Ashes series. The Ashes indeed is a matter of pride in the national psyche of Australia and England. Flintoff with his talent and perseverance turned around the fortunes of English team, and gave it a sense of respectability.

But as it has happened with most of the fast bowlers in the past, Flintoff also suffered injuries. The injuries could have been the trigger that could have forced him to cut his cricketing career short and announce his retirement. He had been recuperating in Dubai where he had become a part time coach imparting training on cricket. He has been in and out of the English team owing to injuries. Incidentally, he was the most prized player in the second season of the Indian Players league tournament, but could not justify the cost, as the injury forced him to opt out.

It would be difficult to find a replacement for him as he was an all-rounder ho on his day could murder any attack and he had shown it convincingly number of times. With the new Ashes series just round the corner, England selectors would have to work hard to find a worthy replacement whose sheer presence in the team could give the mental strength to fight all adversities. Players like Flintoff rise once in a blue moon and they become a part of folklore when they walk into dusk, Flintoff also has added his name to that category.

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